Ballet production “The Pygmalion Effect” is Boris Eifman’s first endeavour in almost twenty years to work in the genre of comedy or, more accurately, tragicomedy – the form which the choreographer has perfected. As he once again finds inspiration in the world cultural heritage, this time Eifman offers his interpretation not of a literary masterpiece or a dramatic chronicle of a historic figure, but the archetypical story of Pygmalion, the sculptor who fell in love with his creation, a statue of a beautiful young woman.

In the ballet plot the role of the tempestuous creator falls to a successful ballroom dancer who faces the challenge of “sculpting” a virtuoso performer from a clumsy common girl he has come across. Internal and external transformation of the heroine will take place against the background of music by Johann Strauss, Jr., known as the “Waltz King”. This is the first time in the choreographer’s prolific creative career that he has used the music of this composer.

A tireless scholar of human soul, Boris Eifman chose for the title of his new ballet a term used in studies of psychology, where the phrase “the Pygmalion effect” is defined as a phenomenon whereby others’ expectations influence a person’s behaviour.

The Russian premiere of the ballet will take place at the Alexandrinsky Theatre in St Petersburg in the beginning of February.